He also spoke about how the project will contain somewhere around 12 tracks, and feature a more “commercial sound”, as opposed to Kendrick’s last two projects—To Pimp A Butterfly and untitled unmastered.—which feature a jazz-influenced sound.

On March 24, 2016, multiple snippets are seen on Dave Free’s Snapchat from Kendrick Lamar studio sessions.

Been thinking about my little brothers. One little brother, he bigger than me, he’s 22. Another brother, he just turned 11. Family. I think now, how wayward things have gone within the past few months, my focus is ultimately going back to my community and the other communities around the world where they’re doing the groundwork. To Pimp a Butterfly was addressing the problem. I’m in a space now where I’m not addressing the problem anymore. We’re in a time where we exclude one major component out of this whole thing called life: God. Nobody speaks on it because it’s almost in conflict with what’s going on in the world when you talk about politics and government and the system.

It’s soon. I have ideas, though. I have ideas and I have a certain approach. But I wanna see what it manifests. I wanna put all the paint on the wall and see where that goes. Maybe you can help me with that. I have so many floating around—24 bars, 16 bars, hooks and choruses and bridges and ideas. References that I had in mind for people to sing.

In the same GQ interview, he spoke about having the confidence in creating a non-rap album:

Yeah, I think I got the confidence for it. If I can master the idea and make the time to approach it the right way, I think I can push it out.

It’s about just being an individual and loving everything you do. There was no pressure from no label or nobody. We did a good kid, m.A.A.d city, we turned around and did a To Pimp A Butterfly. And we’re gonna do a third one.

Martin also spoke about what kind of sounds they’re enjoying and listening to:

We love trap. We love all that. It ain’t just about jazz or funk artists or that. One thing that I want to say and I’ll always say is, I’m not in that box. Get out the box.

Upon release all 14 songs from the album charted on Billboard Hot 100 chart after first week of tracking. The album debuted atop Billboard 200 chart with the biggest first week for album in the first half of the year.